Audit exposes gaps in city land sales, leases

Yeukai Karengezeka Municipal Correspondent
A recent audit carried out by an investigations team set up by the Harare City Council to look into the sales and lease of commercial land has revealed that the local authority has no credible land bank and database of sold properties for the past three years.

According to the report issued by the special investigations committee chairperson, Councillor Charles Nyatsuro, the council does not have a credible land bank and, therefore, could not produce comprehensive land management plans, leaving room for leakages.

A land bank is a public authority created to efficiently hold, manage and develop tax-foreclosed property and it acts as a legal and financial mechanism to transform vacant, abandoned and tax-foreclosed property back to productive use.

Cllr Nyatsuro said the custodian and control of the land bank was not clear and there was no clarity over the storage and security of the bank.

He said there appeared to be no reliable electronic method for storing and securing the land bank.

The committee recommended that an external real estate company be hired to compile the land bank for the city.

“To ensure that leakages and gaps are closed, council resolved that an external real estate company be hired to investigate and compile a land bank for the city and that the commercial land bank be computerised,” reads minutes of the committee.

City council acting finance director Mr Stanley Ndemera was directed to develop key result areas and the implementation framework to do with issues raised in the report, including skills deficiencies in his department within the next 60 days.

The report also highlighted that there was no compliance with procedures for commercial land planning and allocation.

In terms of lease rentals and sale of commercial land, there was no reliable and admissible database of leases.

A total of non-performing leases had been noted and no meaningful action had been taken to recover outstanding lease rentals.

There was no reliable information regarding debts and payment of lease rentals and most of the tenants were being levied rentals below market rates.